Kate Winslet is easily one of the best actresses working today, as she has been giving great performances in acclaimed films ever since her breakout in the mid-1990s. Winslet is a notable star because she isn’t afraid to take chances, playing a series of risky roles. While she initially earned traction for starring in romantic dramas, Winslet became instantly iconic for her work within several historical epics and genre films.
She may have done some great work on television recently with Mare of Easttown and The Regime, but she continues to appear in cinematic triumphs that are celebrated by her fans. The acclaim for her upcoming role in the biopic Lee suggests that Winslet is not slowing down anytime soon and may have many more great performances left ahead of her. Still, some of her past work is just too good to resist. These are Kate Winslet’s most rewatchable movies, proving that her career is truly on another level.
10 ‘Little Children’ (2006)
Directed by Todd Field
Little Children was an inventive take on the suburban drama that allowed Winslet to play one of her most relatable characters. Todd Field’s moving masterpiece focuses on all the drama and intrigue that goes on behind closed doors in a seemingly idealized community that promotes itself as morally righteous; Winslet stars as a caring mother who begins to fall in love with her seductive neighbor (Patrick Wilson), kickstarting an affair that damages their families.
Although intense, Little Children is very rewatchable because it deals with subjects like intimacy issues, infidelity, sexual repression, and the effects of emotional trauma in an authentic and refreshing manner that many audiences may relate to. It’s impressive that Winslet loses herself in a character that bore little in common with the roles that she had been typecast as early on in her career, resulting in an Oscar nomination for Best Actress.
Little Children
- Release Date
- October 6, 2006
- Runtime
- 137 minutes
9 ‘Carnage’ (2011)
Directed by Roman Polanski
Carnage is one of the rare films based on plays that is equally as entertaining as watching an actual stage production. This dark comedy stars Winslet and Christoph Waltz as an unhappily married couple that discovers their son has been getting into fights with a classmate whose parents (John C. Reilly and Jodie Foster) are willing to sit down and have a reasonable discussion about how to move forward.
Biting and acidic, Carnage satirizes how adults can behave like children, hiding behind the notion of social protocol to mask how jealous and selfish they actually are. Winslet’s comedy roles have been few and far between, so Carnage is certainly worth rewatching just to see how much humorous power she actually has on screen when given the opportunity to use it.
Carnage
- Release Date
- September 16, 2011
- Runtime
- 79 minutes
- Writers
- Yasmina Reza , Roman Polanski
8 ‘Revolutionary Road’ (2008)
Directed by Sam Mendes
Revolutionary Road is a powerful romantic drama that took a less idealized examination of the 1950s and the American dream, allowing Winslet to show a more complex side of femininity. The film chronicles the romance between the ambitious Frank Wheeler (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his wife, April (Winslet). Although it feels like the entire world is ahead of them at first, the couple begins to give up on their dreams as they become adjusted to the mundanity of suburban living.
The film presents an honest look at a failing relationship that is worth rewatching for the great chemistry between DiCaprio and Winslet. It makes for a particularly fun film to watch alongside Titanic, as it gives the two stars the opportunity to show a very different side of a romantic relationship. Revolutionary Road shows how much they matured since James Cameron’s blockbuster was released, cementing them as one of cinema’s all-time great on-screen pairings.
Revolutionary Road
- Release Date
- January 23, 2009
- Runtime
- 119 minutes
- Writers
- Justin Haythe , Richard Yates
7 ‘The Reader’ (2008)
Directed by Stephen Daldry
The Reader may have been the film that finally won Winslet an Academy Award for Best Actress, but it’s hardly a work of Oscar bait that only appeals to snobby film critics. Winslet stars in this intimate World War II drama as a German woman in a relationship with a young man (David Kross) who reads to her. Although the relationship begins in a place of earnestness, the dynamic becomes more complicated after the war ends in 1945.
Winslet shed her star persona to play a working-class character, mastering a German accent and sufficiently transforming her physicality. The Reader is proof that tear-jerking, emotional, and romantic dramas can still be rewatchable. The conflicting emotions that the film’s heartbreaking conclusion inspires in critics and fans alike are powerful enough to give the film more than a second look.
The Reader
- Release Date
- January 2, 2008
- Cast
- Ralph Fiennes , Jeanette Hain , David Kross , Kate Winslet , Susanne Lothar , Alissa Wilms
- Runtime
- 123 minutes
- Writers
- David Hare , Bernhard Schlink
6 ‘Contagion’ (2011)
Directed by Steven Soderbergh
Contagion is perhaps the scariest movie of the 21st century that isn’t horror, as Steven Soderbergh’s defining masterpiece seemed to predict how the world would respond to a global pandemic less than a decade before the COVID-19 crisis shut down things in early 2020. Although the film is best remembered for the brutal demise of Gwyneth Platrow’s character in the opening minutes, Winslet has an equally important role as one of the Epidemic Intelligence Services officers at the forefront of providing resources to infected individuals.
Oddly, Contagion became even more rewatchable during the pandemic because of its relevance. It has since been hailed as a masterful procedural and disaster movie that effectively balances its incredible ensemble of some of the greatest living actors, including Winslet in one of her shortest but most impactful roles.
Contagion
- Release Date
- September 8, 2011
- Cast
- gwyneth paltrow , Tien You Chui , Josie Ho , Daria Strokous , Matt Damon , Monique Gabriela Curnen
- Runtime
- 106
- Writers
- Scott Z. Burns
5 ‘Finding Neverland’ (2004)
Directed by Marc Forster
Finding Neverland is an amazing biopic that explores the true story behind the authorship of Peter Pan, a fairy tale that has since been adapted to the page and screen countless times. Marc Forster’s Best Picture-nominated drama explores how the playwright J. M. Barrie (Johnny Depp) became a mentor for two young boys, whose mother Sylvia Llewelyn Davies (Winslet) was dealing with a critical illness that eventually claimed her life.
The sincere romance between Depp and Winslet makes Finding Neverland very charming. The film celebrates the power of childhood innocence and how storytelling can heal those dealing with the most difficult period of their lives. Anyone who grew up reading or watching different versions of Peter Pan may find Finding Neverland rewatchable because of how it tracks the characters’ fascinating origins in real life.
Rent on Amazon
4 ‘Steve Jobs’ (2015)
Directed by Danny Boyle
Steve Jobs is a must-watch biopic about one of the greatest geniuses of the last century and a case in which Winslet steals a film with a supporting performance. Danny Boyle’s inventive biopic explores the life of Steve Jobs (Michael Fassbender) before the launch of three critical projects. Supporting him throughout these highly stressful events is his longtime marketing assistant Joanna Hoffman, who Winslet characterizes as the heart behind the Apple corporation.
Winslet provided pathos and humor to a film that really needed it and did a great job delivering Aaron Sorkin’s rapid-fire series of one-liners. The role earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, signifying that her work was just as critical to the film’s success as the title character. The striking pacing, sharp writing, and surprisingly emotional conclusion make Steve Jobs a rewatchable gem that differs from most biopics.
Steve Jobs
- Release Date
- October 9, 2015
- Runtime
- 125 minutes
- Writers
- Aaron Sorkin , Walter Isaacson
3 ‘Titanic’ (1997)
Directed by James Cameron
Titanic is one of the most famous films ever made and one that anyone who considers themselves a cinephile deserves to see at least one point on the big screen at one point in their life. Titanic is known as the Best Picture-winning masterpiece that was the highest-grossing film of all time upon its initial release. While it’s often seen as the epitome of what the disaster genre can accomplish, Titanic became such a cultural touchstone because of the incredible chemistry between DiCaprio and Winslet.
Romance has rarely felt as intimate as it does in Titanic, as Winslet gave a beautiful performance that captured the hearts of moviegoers everywhere. The multiple successful re-releases of the film that pushed it to over $2 billion at the global box office indicate that Titanic still has the power to inspire audiences of the next generation.
Titanic
- Release Date
- November 19, 1997
- Runtime
- 194 minutes
- Writers
- James Cameron
2 ‘Sense and Sensibility’ (1995)
Directed by Ang Lee
Sense and Sensibility is one of the best Jane Austen adaptations ever made, as it captures all the wit, humor, intrigue, and romance that made the original novel a work of fiction that has connected with audiences of multiple generations. Although Winslet lied to get the role, Winslet’s performance as Marianne Dashwood was the film’s scene stealer, an impressive feat considering that Sense and Sensibility also starred acting titans like Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Hugh Grant, and Hugh Laurie, among others.
Winslet’s youthful exuberance provided the emotional core of Sense and Sensibility and brought to life a character that had occupied the imaginations of readers everywhere for generations. Sense and Sensibility has only gotten better with age, as multiple rewatches only prove what a genius casting choice Winslet was.
Sense and Sensibility
- Release Date
- December 13, 1995
- Runtime
- 136 minutes
1 ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’ (2004)
Directed by Michel Gondry
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a film that is almost impossible to describe for those who have not already seen it, as Michel Gondry’s masterpiece merges science fiction, dark comedy, and romance into one of the greatest date movies ever. While it was impressive to see that the famous comic star Jim Carrey was capable of giving a more serious performance, it was equally impressive that Winslet flexed her humorous muscles as a particularly quirky character.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is very rewatchable because of the multiple plot twists and surprising story developments that are improved upon repeated viewings. However, it is also just an emotionally transporting experience that some audiences may want to have multiple times because of how intimately it captures the feelings of being in love for the first time.